Greatest flautists of Progressive Rock?

However, in a n interveiw (can't remember when it was, 1990's i think) he stated that he had been playing the flute wrongly. Still the greatest flautist??????

I second Syzygy in saying that Didier Malherbe being highly adventorous. IMO I find her to be one of the best flautist in prog. Very unique too.

Syzygy wrote: Rocktopus wrote: Not to obvious I think: Sacha van Geest Supersister: 1. Present From Nancy, 2. To the Highest Bidder, 3. Pudding en Gisteren. All fantastic. Teddy Lasry (Claude Engel, Richard Raux also credited flute players) Magma: Kobaia Pascal Vandenbulcke Dün: Eros Udo Dennenbourg (Christopf Franke also credited) Tangerine Dream: Alpha Centauri I find all these albums and fluteplayers untyphical unique sounding. Gong and almost all Canterbury bands have been mentioned many times. Finally Gnidrolog, PFM, Harmonium and some VdGG. Probably not as original, but always very beautiful .   All good nominations, but the flute passages on Kobaia are truly magnificent (in my completely objective opinion). Seeing as the Baldies haven't added their opinion yet, I'd also have to nominate Didier Malherbe of Gong, a brilliant and highly adventurous flautist whose playing is as much influenced by jazz and Indian music as it is by rock. Try Flute Salad for starters, and proceed from there.   Ian Anderson is a highly distinctive flautist but his playing is heavily influenced by the mighty Roland Kirk, as he himself admits. He also admits that he's not that great a player; when Gentle Giant supported Tull in the 70s, the Shulman brothers invited him to play with them but he felt that he wasn't good enough.

Re: Gentle Giant on Ian Anderson... thanks for that info, very interesting. Ian must have been in awe of GG a bit hey?

Re: Flute Salad/Oily Way. yeah the start is nice with the flute by itself but is just as goood in the next part of the song with the other instruments. some killer wah too.

ahhhhh the flute, we do have ian anderson to thank i think for the elevation of this instrument in prog. italian prog is such a vast listening playground for those who want to hear flute.
those bands include:
Alphataurus
Alusa fallax
New Trolls Atomic System
PFM

As Syzygy already mentioned: Bloomdidoo all the way! He easily plays the pants off Ian Anderson. Just listen to live versions of "Oily Way" (with the introductional flute salad, of course), where he usually plays flute instead of the sax of the studio version. And of course the in my opinion pinnacle of his carreer, the fantastic "Fairy Tales" album of Mother Gong. He is simply out of this world on it. I highly recommend his new band Hadouk, by the way.
Nik Turner of Hawkwind is by far not a virtuoso on flute as Didier Malherbe, yet he recorded one of the best flute-driven albums of all time: "Xitintoday", a concept album about the Egyptian book of the Dead, with the support of Morris Pert, Alan Powell, Harry Williamson and half of Gong (Mike Howlett, Tim Blake, Steve Hillage, Miquette Giraudy). Very atmospheric; to be played around midnight to evoke the Egyptian Gods in your own home.

Still, no-one has mentioned yet Dave Arbus (East of Eden)

chamberry wrote: I second Syzygy in saying that Didier Malherbe being highly adventorous. IMO I find her to be one of the best flautist in prog. Very unique too.

Edited by Sean Trane - October 09 2006 at 10:58

arnold stirrup wrote: You must check out Eric Dolphy, specifically the album Out To Lunch.  Although he doesn't play flute on every track, the album itself is a classic of progressive jazz.

IAN ANDERSON AND DAVE VALENTIN.

I like Jon Field, from Jade Warrior; in the firsttwo Vertigo albums; sounds a little like Ian Anderson but more aggressive.